Cheney bluntly calls Greene's mask-Holocaust comparison 'evil lunacy'

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) sparked more controversy on Friday, when she called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "mentally ill" and likened the mask-wearing mandate on the House floor to the Holocaust. Her words didn't escape the notice of her colleague Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
"We can look back at a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star," Greene, who has been accused of anti-Semitism, said Friday in an interview on Christian Broadcasting Network host David Brody's podcast The Water Cooler, referring to Jews who lived under the Nazi regime. "And they were definitely treated like second-class citizens. So much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers ... and this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about."
Pelosi's request that lawmakers prove they've been vaccinated against COVID-19 before they can stop wearing masks on the floor has been criticized by some Republicans, but it's in no way comparable to the anti-Jewish laws of The Third Reich, and Greene's comments were unsurprisingly met with widespread backlash for trivializing the Holocaust. Cheney, who called the remarks "evil lunacy," was among the critics.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cheney's blunt response is yet another example that she's not going to shy away from combating her fellow Republicans and former President Donald Trump now that she's been removed from her House leadership role. As The Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere put it, the congresswoman "has not been very circumspect these days."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Morales seeks re-election defying constitution and criminal charges
Under the Radar Supporters of former president Evo Morales clash with authorities as political and economic turmoil deepens
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'